My home projects have consumed every waking hour for almost two weeks. I've remodeled the entire living room by adding a wall of bookcases — from floor to ceiling, over 9 feet high! — and moving the kids' school station out of the room into a corner of the dining room. I finally have enough elbow room in the living room, and have expanded my home office a bit. The bookcases are not quite halfway done yet, though! *sigh* They take a long time to build…. but when they are done, I can finally unpack the boxes of books I've stuffed under beds and in closets 15 years ago!
Since my online life has been terribly boring, with sparse updates on the remodeling projects, I'll console you with a cute "Listicle" meme I came across. I'm a little late to the party, as the meme is for Mondays, but I can still have fun with it. Feel free to leave your own answers in the comments area.
1. I like onions now. I no longer hate tomatoes and peppers.
I was a horribly picky eater as a kid, not a good trait when the family is always tight on grocery money and the step-dad is a maniac about eating everything before you. Oh, I used to get such awful spankings for refusing to eat my tomatoes! I still do not care for them but I will eat them.
I read a lot and study in my spare time. I believe I received a terrible education as a youngster. I had a great thirst for learning — I would read the dictionary and encyclopedias — but the curriculum was geared toward "social" sharing where students chatted in groups. I was terrible in social settings and it always seemed that the extroverts always got all the attention and learning. So when I graduated from school, and especially when I started homeschooling, I read everything I could and re-educated myself. I discovered that I love history and I could even do mathematics with some effort! Public schools are horribly cookie-cutter institutions, and I believe very few children learn well in such an environment.
3. I'm less shy and depressed.
I grew up in a few dysfunctional, abusive homes and suffered through severe bouts of depression as a teenager. I became a Christian and it was like the whole world opened up for me. I had peace of mind, peace in my soul, I was more assured, I was just so happy that Jesus loves me. I am now more able to open up and enjoy life.
As a kid, I was afraid of them. Now, I like them and even write technology articles. Ha!
5. I know how to build things.
When I was in school, girls were not allowed to take Shop Class. I SO SO SO wanted to. I was forced to take Home Ec, where they taught us useless things like how to put on makeup and how to sew a skirt. I wanted to learn how to build bookshelves and houses and how to fix cars. I learned how to build stuff after I bought my own home. I'm still clueless about cars, though….
6. I still like soft rock.
My husband played some music by Ambrosia the other day, and I LOVED it.
8. I hate television and most movies.
As a kid, I was a FREAK about movies and TV. I had movies posters, screenplays, books and magazines on movies and TV shows, and my own little portable TV set. After I married, the husband and I decided we didn't want the influence of TV on our kids. What a difference it has made in our lives. I tried to watch TV in the doctor's office one time and was aghast at the slop spewing from it. While I'm sure there ARE some good shows on from time to time, it seems that most of the stuff is lewd, scornful, and idiotic. It's a shame because the TV is such a wonderful device — it could be used to educate people about history, to inspire them. But most of the stuff simply seems a tool for social engineering and the coarsening or dumbing-down of society.
I didn't care for birds much, before I learned about them. The only birds I saw were the pesky crows, bluejays and maybe some cardinals or sparrows. But after reading about the physiology of the bird and how intricate and perfectly designed they are, I grew to admire them. Even the crows. They are magnificent creatures.
Well, I made it! And now my work beckons again. Thanks for reading this far. Have a great week!
It seems to me that if you haven't read those books packed in boxes in 15 years, I doubt if you really need them. Maybe you should offer them on paperback swap and maybe get some books you really would like–although, somehow I doubt there would be much interest in old books there like you probably have.
Hi, Karen. I don't own many paperbacks. 🙂 Most of my collection is reference, nonfiction and very old books dating back to the late 1800s and early 1900s. I value them very much, so I'm converting part of my living room into a library/office. I use many of them for my work, and have missed using my older volumes!
Beautiful work that you are doing there in your house.
Thanks, Chuck. I hope it looks even better when I am done!